Guide to Lawn Bowl Grips

The lawn bowl grips is important to control the line of lawn bowl to draw a shot and in this article we guide you about best lawn bowl grips. The final point of contact before you deliver the bowl is the grip. The proper grip is essential for consistent and constant delivery. Here are the best lawn bowl grips, as recommended by me. It allows your draw shot to improve because you’ll always be in line with the jack. We will show you some best lawn bowl grips to enhance your shot. Choosing the best lawn bowl grips is important to improve your draw shot.

Many bowlers are unfamiliar with one of the first things beginners are taught: how to hold a bowl. However, it is one of the common problems among club players.

This article was created to help you identify the most popular grip choices and show you how they may benefit your game.

Why the grip is important

The grip is essential for a consistent delivery technique. The grip is the point at which the bowl comes into direct contact with your hand before being released. This implies that the grip’s last chance to ensure the bowl goes correctly is everything.

A poor grip can also result in a lack of confidence in performance. In wet weather, this is especially true. I’ve had this problem, and I’ve seen it in others.

When you’re not sure if you can steer the bowl through the backswing, or if you can release at the right moment and it throws your game, You’ll be preoccupied with it and will eventually try to compensate for it in one way or another, either by how you hold the bowl or by delivering it.

You may inadvertently alter your line control and confidence.

Finally, a poor grip contributes to bad technique. This is usually why bowls “wobble” after release. When the bowl does not go straight on its line, it is because of a poor grip. The wobble will have an impact on the shot’s line and weight.

Before you check your grip

While the grip technique is crucial, there are a few things to think about before making the switch.

Additional factors can influence your ability to grip the bowl properly.

Check the size of your bowl

To begin, make sure you have the correct size bowl. Bigger is generally regarded as better in bowls, which is true. A bigger bowl weighs more and aids weight management. Moving a heavier bowl also takes more energy because your opponent has to use more weight to remove one of your shots.

However, a larger bowl should not be used at the expense of your grip.

This is crucial for anybody, regardless of experience level, since the size of the bowl you require will vary with time as your grip strength improves.

How to Choose the Correct Lawn Bowl Size

Grip test

You should be able to wrap your both hands around the bowl’s running surface as a rule of thumb. Your hands should be in a position so that your fingers and thumb touch in the middle.

However, the simplest method to verify is to test your grip. Fill a container with water and dunk your bowl, and hand in it. When you’re done with the bucket, grasp your container as you would normally. Hold the bowl in front of you, with your palm resting atop it (so that gravity is pulling the bowl out of your hand). You should be able to grip the bowl more comfortably.

Grip enhancers

Gripping elements can cover a wide range of mistakes. I use grip enhancers daily. A little nudge gives me just a bit more confidence in how I hold the bowl.

You can read more about the best grip enhancers in my article.

Types of grips

Here are the most frequent grip designs you’ll encounter.

Claw

claw-grip-combined
https://crowngreenking.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/claw-grip-combined.jpg

Thumb on top. If any, the index finger and fourth finger are placed in grips around the bowl (if they exist).

Cradle

Cradle-Grip
https://www.jackhighbowls.com/ezoimgfmt/www.jamesgardenslbc.ca/Images/Cradle-Grip.jpg?ezimgfmt=rs:283×189/rscb2/ng:webp/ngcb2

The bowl sits in the palm of your hand with the thumb on the side.

cradle-grip-combined
https://crowngreenking.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/cradle-grip-combined.jpg

Scoop

The index finger, middle finger, and ring finger are positioned on either side of the center of the running surface, similar to a claw.

3-2-5
https://www.jackhighbowls.com/ezoimgfmt/i1.wp.com/www.winningbowls.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/3-2-5.jpg?w=710&ezimgfmt=rs:710×610/rscb2/ng:webp/ngcb2

Factors that affect your grip

Many elements influence the sort of grip you choose. The following are the most important ones.

Bowls Grip style

If you have embedded grips on your bowl, the claw grip will be ideal since the fingertips will be within the incorporated section of the bowl. Even the Cradle grip might feel unpleasant with this technique of holding.

The embedded grip is intended to be grasped with the fingers running parallel along with the grips. If you hold the bowls any other way, it will feel strange.

If you have bowls without grips, the claw grip will be difficult because there is nothing for the tips of your fingers to grip on to. Bowl grips are also helpful in providing a reference point for you to rest your fingertips on.

Weather

The most challenging playing conditions are wet ones, at least from a grip standpoint. They will examine your grip and bowl size choices in a way no one else can.

A cradle grip is preferable in wet situations since there is more surface area in touch with the bowl. The palm can almost act as a suction cup on the bowl.

Another advantage of utilizing the cradle grip in wet weather is that it enables you to fully grasp the bowl with your palm behind it on delivery. This will allow you to “push” further behind it, making it simpler to add more weight with the slow, hefty greens.

Green/rink condition

More of a “touch” approach is required for eco-friendly actions. Bowlers suggested using a grip where my fingertips mainly were utilized, such as the claw grip.

This gives you to have a better “feel” of the bowl.

The cradle grip is preferable on slow greens since you may use your hand to reach around the bowl on delivery, providing more “oomph” behind it to help you get the extra weight. I covered that in the section above.

How do you know what is appropriate for you?

You may use various grips for different games. For quick outside and indoor surfaces, former world champion David Brtant formerly used a claw grip and a cradle grip for slow stuff, respectively. It looks like this is the superior technique.

Grip Test

It would help if you first verified that you could actually grasp the bowl. The simple approach to do so is to follow the aforementioned “bucket of water” technique.

If you discover that one grip is simpler than the others, you may have a winner on your hands.

Practice

Assess the roll-up and try each one out. You’re likely to discover one that feels more natural.

Of course, it’s wonderful to learn all of the grips, as you may want to change them during a game, for example, if the rain comes and you realize you’re having trouble. Knowing that you  have practiced your cradle grip will be a significant boost of confidence.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is not one way to hold a bowl. Use the techniques described in this article to see what works best for you.

The key is comfort and consistency. You need a little research and practice, and you’ll never have to worry about your grip again!

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